Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to encourage retraining into hospitality careers for older workers.

We know that work helps everyone, including older people, play active and fulfilling roles in society while building financial security for retirement.

DWP delivers Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs), which are fully funded by government and offer training, work experience and a guaranteed job interview to those ready to start a job, as well as those who are seeking to retrain and change career. DWP’s Strategic Relationship Team (SRT) and the local Employment Advisers (EAs) based in jobcentres work together to engage with employers to support these SWAPs. Building on our relationships with national employers, SRT continues to expand its current network to more employers in key sectors such as hospitality where there is a critical demand for workers.

EAs can help employers write job descriptions, promote vacancies in job centres, help select and interview priority candidates, invite employers to local recruitment events to promote their vacancies, and help plan recruitment campaigns.

DWP are focusing on the hospitality sector by delivering a hospitality SWAP pilot, launched in partnership with the trade body UKHospitality. This pilot is being rolled out to 26 new areas in need of jobs and opportunity, including 13 coastal towns such as Scarborough and Blackpool. As part of the pilot, participants are supported to gain accreditation for a digital Hospitality Skills Passport, which is designed to provide proof that they are qualified to perform their job effectively and safely, giving them a universal entry standard into the sector.

In the last financial year, there were 5,620 SWAP starts in hospitality, which have helped people of all ages gain the relevant skills to move into work. Research has found that all demographics considered benefitted from taking part in a SWAP and that SWAPs had a greater impact improving employment outcomes for some of the most disadvantaged groups, including older claimants.

Employers and training providers in the hospitality sector who are interested in offering SWAP opportunities can contact their local Jobcentre Plus Group Partnership Manager. A contact list is available on GOV.UK at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-partnerships/national-partnership-teams.